Kobe Ink - #22 Shinkaichi Gold

Kobe Ink - #22 Shinkaichi Gold - Ink drop

Nagasawa’s Kobe INK #22, Shinkaichi Gold is an interesting, mysterious ink. It’s quite attractive to my eye, but the color is hard to define and hard to predict from paper to paper.

Kobe #22 Shinkaichi Gold Color Range

The name Shinkaichi Gold comes from the Shinkaichi neighborhood in downtown Kobe, Japan. Once the wealthiest area in the city, it declined for some time. Today, it’s a vibrant arts and entertainment area. Gold represents the area’s ongoing revival.

#22 Shinkaichi Gold on Cosmo Air Light and Tomoe River

Although called a gold, this ink leans heavily towards green on many papers. An earthy, olive-green gold is the most common base color. On coated papers, you get more shading, which brings out golden mustard highlights. It’s a nice, friendly balance, and quite attractive. The ink splat shows a black sheen in saturated areas. On written strokes, this becomes a strong, defining edge. Beautiful!

Kobe Ink - #22 Shinkaichi Gold - Water Brush

Like most in the huge Kobe INK series, this is an excellent writing ink. There’s no feathering at all, and show-through is lighter than expected for such a color. In flow, it’s neutral to wet and very comfortable. Drying was just a touch more than average. As a writing ink, I don’t have any negatives to report.

Kobe Ink - #22 Shinkaichi Gold - Writing Samples

Nagasawa Kobe inks are made by Sailor, and they come in the 50 ml pot bottles Sailor used for their Jentle series inks. Direct from Nagasawa, the price is excellent (US$15), but they come at a premium outside Asia. Shop around and you can find them for US$30. I like no.22 Shinkaichi Gold, but there are a lot of beautiful inks in the series that will surely tempt you!

Kobe Ink - #22 Shinkaichi Gold - Swatch Card

Kobe Ink - #22 Shinkaichi Gold - Comparisons

Kobe Ink - #22 Shinkaichi Gold - 50 ml Bottle